Knut Hamsun's "Victoria"

Knut Hamsun's Victoria reads a little like a fairy tale.  The lovely young maiden who lives (literally) in the castle, and the young lover endlessly trying to prove himself and his love to her and her family.  Only Johannes is a poor young man, and Victoria is the wealthy landowner's daughter, and people do things differently in the countryside.  For a slim novel, really only a novella, Hamsun manages all sorts of things in his story.  There is a dreamlike quality to it at times with interior monologues filled with hungry imaginings, and there are moments when it seems like nothing more than a meditation on love.  I think you know how real fairy tales end, though.

Johannes and Victoria have always known each other, but they are from different levels of society.  Johannes is the miller's son who knows the countryside like the back of his hand and basks in its beautiful nature.  Everyone calls the manor house The Castle, and every summer Johannes is called to row the Castle Children to an island where they explore and amuse themselves, but he's never invited to partake in the fun.  Johannes is always only on the edge of things.  He loves Victoria from afar, but Victoria is almost an ice maiden.  She's interested in Johannes, but you're never quite sure how deep her intentions or affections run.  As her family's wealth diminishes, so the pressure increases for her to make an advantageous match.  And you know what that means for Johannes.  

Eventually Johannes is sent off to school in the city and returns only in the summers when he encounters Victoria.  His love for her never fades, and though flirtatious moments pass, Victoria can never forget her responsibilities to her family or their expectations of her.  Perhaps to exorcise his demons, Johannes begins writing.  First poems, and then books which bring him some success and notoriety.  They're all for Victoria who is both his muse and his prison.  But this is a love story, remember, even if our lovers are star crossed, Johannes and Victoria are thwarted at every turn.  The two fly into and out of each other's orbits even as they are betrothed to others.       

This is really a very beautiful love story despite the emotional roller coaster ride it at times became.  I was attracted by the story and hadn't really thought of looking for any of Hamsun's other works, but he seems like such an interesting author I might just change my mind.  He himself was born into a poor peasant family and his own literary efforts were also thwarted by having to work what seemed like every imaginable job known to man to support himself (everything from near indentured servant to his brother-in-law to streetcar conductor in Chicago, IL!).  He had high literary aspirations, too.

"Finding the contemporary novel plot-ridden, psychologically unsophisticated, and didactic, he aimed to transform it so as to accomodate contingency and the irrational, the nuances of conscious and subconscious life as well as the vagaries of human behavior." 

He eventually did become a literary success and won the Nobel Prize in 1920, however lost his considerable fortune after WWII due to his "openly expressed Nazi sympathies during the German occupation of Norway." (It might be interesting to read more about that).  So, a new year, I had to pick a new book.  It may be quickish read, but it's also an excellent read to start things off.

Comments

[Chelsea]

Sounds like an amazing read - one I can't wait to pick up for myself! I always think it's amazing just how many great authors end up being Nazi sympathizers, and I guess this is just one more case like that! Do you know if Hamsun wrote anything else?

[Danielle]

Chelsea--I think he actually wrote quite a lot, though I'm not sure what is still in print and translated into English--certainly few (Hunger, Pan and Growth of the Soil to name three). I don't know much about the Nazi angle, but it was mentioned in the biography in the book. He certainly wasn't the only author at the time to be in that group.

[Eva]

You always do this to me-talking about books I want to go out and read right away!! :p Interesting re: Nazi sympathiser; usually, I try not to find out anything about authors, because if they weren't good people (and let's face it, most of the great authors had some issues), it affects my enjoyment of their books. Isn't that weird? But this one still sounds too good to pass up.

[Bride of the Book God]

I've never read any Hamsun though Hunger was recommended to me by a friend; perhaps I should give him a try. It's interesting the how knowing something about an author can have an impact on how you view their works. I try not to let it affect my enjoyment; sometimes we just have to accept that good stuff is written by people we would cross the road to avoid.

[Danielle]

Eva--I'm usually a little curious about an author and will generally read the biographical information. Sometimes it throws insight on a book (like when I was reading Charlotte Bronte's Shirley), however, when they have a nice, big smudge on their past it can also take away from the pleasure a bit. As this one was written well before WWII and the subject was so completely different, knowing that about Hamsun didn't really take anything away from the book.
Bride of the Book God--I have heard Hunger is one of his 'big' books. I hadn't thought of reading it, but now I might take a look at it. Authors are only human, too, and sometimes they don't seem like very nice people in real life, but I think you're right it's better to just judge a book on its own merits.

[Elaine]

Danielle - I read and loved this book just over a year ago. Here is the link to my review over on Random in case you would like to read it:

http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2007/11/victoria---knut.html

I loved it and was not expecting to.

[Danielle]

Elaine--It was very different than I thought it would be--but in a good way. I was never entirely sure of Victoria's feelings until the very end and of course by then your heart is all twisted by the situation. I really liked it, too, despite the tumultuous nature of the story and I think you are right--it could not have ended any other way (and been believable!). Thanks for the link, by the way.

[Dorothy W.]

Hamsun is one of those authors who's been in the back of my mind to read for a while, and your review makes me even more interested. We have Hunger on our shelves, I think, so that will be the one I turn to first, when I get there. Which could be a long time, unfortunately :)

[iliana]

This sounds like one of this nice, quite books which stay with you long after turning the last page. Haven't read anything by this author but I'm going to add this one to my list. Glad to see your '09 has started off with a good book!

[Danielle]

Dorothy--I think I picked up the Hamsun novel after I read Kristin Lavransdatter and wanted more Norwegian fiction. He's an interesting author to try and I wouldn't mind getting Hunder at some point too. And I understand all too well how hard it is to get to all the authors you read about. I have the same problem.
Iliana--Yes, it is a story that will stick with me I think. I'm always amazed when short books can do that! It may be a while before I finish another book, but it's nice to start the year off with a good read.

[Stefanie]

You know I was looking for Knut Hamsun when I was at Half Price Books not that long ago. They didn't have any and I was trying to remember why I was looking for him. Now I know, you've mentioned him before and I thought he sounded good. Hopefully next time he will be on the shelf, if not, there is always the library!

[Danielle]

Stefanie--I was on a Scandinavian binge when I read Sigrid Undset a while back, and I think I came up with a list of books that I'm sure mentioned Hamsun. I'm sure you'll come across his books eventually!

[litlove]

I've wanted to read this, too, for the rather superficial reason of the name! I'm interested to know it's short, romantic and engaging. Definitely one to look out for next year.

[Danielle]

Litlove--Actually the cover is what really drew me, and it is very fitting for the story. It's a quick read and I think you would like it.

[Lilly from the north]

Hello, I'm from Norway and I want to tell you something about Hamsun. (Please don't mind my bad grammar and mis-spellings) Before the 1930s he was our pride. We loved to have him representing our country to the rest of the world, but after his official sympathy with the nazis that changed. Still the people of Norway is divided in their wiev upon Hamsun, some are claiming they can find traces of prejudicism in his writing, but the other half thinks that his writing is fantastic and that his political thoughts ought to be kept away from how we value his writing. In Norway the hard feelings are still so strong that many people will not recognice him as a great author, and therefor they don't read any of his books. I think he is a great author!

[Danielle]

Lilly--Thanks so much for commenting. It is really interesting to hear your perspective on Hamsun and the book! I was curious what contemporary Norwegians thought of him. Had I not already known about his Nazi sympathies, I don't think I could have gleaned them from reading Victoria. Of course it was written so much earlier than the War, hopefully it can be kept separate from his later political associations. I think it is hard sometimes to separate an author from a dark private life (particularly when it comes to War activities), but I do think it is good to keep an open mind at least about their work. I am glad I read Victoria and hope to try another book by him at some point. Do you have a favorite?